A 77-year-old church deacon from north London has been sentenced to eight and a half years after grooming and sexually abusing vulnerable young men between 1970 and 2008.
John Grant of Colney Hatch Lane, Hornsey was convicted in July 2026 of three counts of sexual assault, six counts of indecent assault and two counts of causing another person to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity.
Sentencing him this week, a judge at Wood Green Crown Court said he had carried out “a sustained manipulation” of the men and the Metropolitan Police believes there may be other victims because of “the nature of his offending and his lengthy association with the church as an influential member at multiple religious institutions”.
Grant was a senior figure in churches and local communities across the country between 1970 and 2012. They included Muswell Hill Baptist Church in north London, and Billingham Baptist Church in Stockton-on-Tees, as well as several youth groups in north London. He was moderator of the London Baptist Association for a time and a member of the Broomsknoll Church of Scotland in Airdrie between 1965 and 1970. He was also a member of Ward Green Baptist Church in Barnsley between 1973 and 1984.
As well as deacon, he held various other roles, including as a youth group leader.
Police first became aware of Grant’s offending in 2023 when a victim-survivor reported that he had been repeatedly sexually assaulted over a 30-year period. The abuse began in 1994 when the victim-survivor moved into a shared house with Grant. However, after two other people moved out of the address they shared, Grant began asking whether the victim-survivor wanted massages.
Despite rejecting these offers, the victim-survivor stated that he felt pressured into massages involving sexual touching. This continued until the victim moved out in 1998, but he returned to the address in 1999, where the abuse continued until 2008.
Following this disclosure, officers launched extensive enquiries to identify organisations and churches connected to Grant. Across all the complainants, police say there was a similar motive displayed by Grant where he groomed vulnerable young men through coercive control and behaviour, before sexually assaulting them.
Grant was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offender register for life.
Muswell Hill Baptist Church said in a statement that it was “devastating” that Grant “was able to take advantage of his association with the church and the soup kitchen which operates from here for so many years without his behaviour being understood or challenged. We unreservedly apologise to anyone and everyone impacted by Mr Grant’s abuse. The church has been fully co-operating with the police through the investigation and is grateful for the dignity, compassion and sensitivity with which the investigation has been conducted”.
Detective Chief Inspector Elsa Mak, whose team led the investigation, said the sentencing showed the force's commitment to bringing offenders to justice. She added: "We would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim-survivors who have already come forward. Their experiences and accounts directly shaped our investigation while it was in its early stages, and we thank them for putting their trust in us to help identify the scale of Grant’s prolific offending across four decades."
Detectives are keen for any other potential victim-survivors to come forward.
Anyone with information or wishing to report offences relating to Grant can call police on 101. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
For confidential help, the 24/7 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line offers free phone and online chat for anyone aged 16+ in England and Wales: 0808 500 2222 or visit 247sexualabusesupport.org.uk.
Alternatively, Premier Lifeline is a national Christian confidential helpline open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on 0300 111 0101 (charged at the standard landline rate and included in any call package which includes landlines).